Speaker 1: Hey, welcome to I'm Doug gli Been. This is all ball.
Speaker 1: We caught up this week with Stephen Ashworth, who's a
Speaker 1: I guess he's a sophomore at Utah State, but a
Speaker 1: really interesting career. He high school basketball, he grew up
Speaker 1: in Alpine, Utah for the most part, played famed Loan
Speaker 1: Peak high school and um, you know, late in his
Speaker 1: high school career he blew up. He'll tell you about
Speaker 1: all that. Was set to go to Utah State with
Speaker 1: Tim Duryer. Dryer gets fired, thought about opening up his recruitment,
Speaker 1: goes on his more remission, comes back and now last
Speaker 1: year played a huge role with Craig Smith's Aggies. Craig
Speaker 1: Smith leaves, goes to Utah. Did you think about transferring?
Speaker 1: What is Ryan Odom like to play for? And what's
Speaker 1: it like to be only four months married? Plus he's
Speaker 1: been on social media ton trying to get a name,
Speaker 1: image and likeness deals. Let's catch up with the star
Speaker 1: point guard for the Aggies of Utah State, Stephen Ashworth. Um, okay,
Speaker 1: So want to get to the name, image and likeness thing.
Speaker 1: I want to get to the fact you guys have
Speaker 1: a new coaching staff. What that's all like, but explain
Speaker 1: to me the Lone Pine deal. So I remember, probably
Speaker 1: a decade ago, somebody tell me, like, man, this there's
Speaker 1: this high school in Utah and they're just they got
Speaker 1: dudes dudes everywhere, right, Yeah? Is what what what Lone
Speaker 1: Pine High School? Is that just a regular high school
Speaker 1: where lots of players live close? Is it a private school?
Speaker 1: Like what is for somebody who's not a Bee High
Speaker 1: State or what is Lone Pine High School? Yeah? So
Speaker 1: it's it's actually Long Peak. Uh, there's a mountain peak
Speaker 1: called Loan Peak right up right up above the school.
Speaker 1: So it's called Loan Peak High School. Um. And I believe, honestly,
Speaker 1: just the basketball dominance that it's had over the past
Speaker 1: twenty years really started with head coach Quincy Lewis when
Speaker 1: he was there and then many people know him as
Speaker 1: he went to buy U after and um now he's
Speaker 1: back in the state of Utah coach in high school
Speaker 1: basketball once again. Um. But it's a public school, Um,
Speaker 1: completely public. Uh. You have to live in school boundaries
Speaker 1: in order to go to Loan Peak and so, um,
Speaker 1: you know, we couldn't have some of the top basketball
Speaker 1: players in the state live in you know, different cities
Speaker 1: and come to school. They're just to play for Long Peak.
Speaker 1: And so a lot of people um started to take
Speaker 1: notice when uh they were on that national stage. And UM,
Speaker 1: you know, we had great talent all the way back
Speaker 1: with Jackson Emory and Tyler Hawes at Loan Peak. And
Speaker 1: I think that kind of just created the culture that, um,
Speaker 1: if if you want to play for Long Peak, you
Speaker 1: gotta be great, and and that developed players like Nick Emery, T. J. Haws,
Speaker 1: Eric Meeka and they actually in two thousand thirteen were
Speaker 1: named national champions. So so to wait, So all of
Speaker 1: those kids actually grew up right there or did some
Speaker 1: families move in move into so surprisingly, the Emeries, the Hawses,
Speaker 1: the Mika's, um, they all lived there and Alpine um
Speaker 1: grew up there and and me myself, I moved there
Speaker 1: when I was five, UM and so and my end
Speaker 1: at the time, my parents weren't really thinking basketball and
Speaker 1: we should move to Alone Peak because we lived in
Speaker 1: the boundary, UM where high school is already really good
Speaker 1: at basketball. It was just kind of a change of
Speaker 1: scenery for the family. And UM, I was fortunate enough
Speaker 1: to grow up going to all those high school games
Speaker 1: watching those guys, and so I think that kind of
Speaker 1: helped fuel my passion for basketball. Okay, so immately you
Speaker 1: say I grew up going to those games. Um. The
Speaker 1: basketball obviously such a big part of the Mormon community,
Speaker 1: just huge. Any Mormon church has has basketball gym and
Speaker 1: guys played basketball. But how big is like, how big
Speaker 1: is the gym at Lumpeak. Uh, the gym at Lumpeak
Speaker 1: can fit people. Um, And so it's a pretty average,
Speaker 1: you know, high school arena it. Um. There was a
Speaker 1: time for a while when we would play a rival
Speaker 1: American Fork High school, we'd either have to have that
Speaker 1: game UM down at Utah Valley University or at the
Speaker 1: Marriott Center at by U UM just for crowd attendance
Speaker 1: and so UM. But yeah, all those games were always packed. Um.
Speaker 1: It was always sold out and it was a fun environment.
Speaker 1: I remember one of the funnest games was UM when
Speaker 1: we played St. Joseph out of New York. They came
Speaker 1: in for an ESPN game at Loan Peak and it
Speaker 1: was crazy, just the atmosphere and the students and just
Speaker 1: the passion for basketball. Because you're at you know, every
Speaker 1: church around here in the LDS faith. We have a
Speaker 1: basketball gym, and and so kids grew up beyond going
Speaker 1: to that gym and and working out with their dads
Speaker 1: or their siblings or their friends. And um, you know,
Speaker 1: during the summer, we were there every day just playing
Speaker 1: pick up at the church and it was awesome. So um,
Speaker 1: Jimmer Okay, Now, obviously Jimmer comes in he's a star
Speaker 1: by U, but he's not from Utah as a as
Speaker 1: a kid who grew up in Alting. When I see
Speaker 1: Jimmer for debt, like, is he one of your guys?
Speaker 1: Is he not? Like? What? What is? How is he
Speaker 1: thought of in the state of Utah? Um, Jimmer for
Speaker 1: that is arguably the greatest college basketball player of all time.
Speaker 1: That's just that's what the state of utak um. And
Speaker 1: you know, it's it's it's sad that he didn't have, um,
Speaker 1: you know, quite the career in the NBA that everybody
Speaker 1: was hoping to see. You know that that Steph Curry
Speaker 1: has been able to have. And but it's interesting. I
Speaker 1: remember vividly, um going to UH. It was a huge
Speaker 1: game San Diego State, Quiet Leonard. It was a top
Speaker 1: ten game down in Provo, and I remember going to
Speaker 1: that game just the atmosphere around Jimmer. Um, it was
Speaker 1: crazy and it was something that that I aspired to be.
Speaker 1: I wanted to be a player in the state of
Speaker 1: Utah that other little kids wanted to be when they
Speaker 1: grew up. And so Um, Jimmer is definitely somebody that
Speaker 1: that I look up to. It I've met a few times.
Speaker 1: I've I've done some workouts with him, and the guy
Speaker 1: trained with Paul Peterson knows him, knows him really well.
Speaker 1: And so um always super genuine dude. And and people,
Speaker 1: you know, whether we're Utah State fans, Utaugh fans, BIU fans, um,
Speaker 1: there's a pretty wide consensus that everybody respects what Jimmer
Speaker 1: fordet was able to do and in the game of
Speaker 1: college basketball. And now it's crazy to see what Damian
Speaker 1: Millard did out of Weiver State, but in that time period,
Speaker 1: it was all about Jimmer. And it's crazy right there
Speaker 1: that everybody pay attention to Jimmer. Here is Damian Lillard,
Speaker 1: who's actually Olympian at the NBA. All start, okay, So Um,
Speaker 1: you know, if you go back to you know, late
Speaker 1: nineties and two thousands, obviously Utah when the Jaris was
Speaker 1: there was hot and they've gone up and down. They've
Speaker 1: had some great runs even since um b y U
Speaker 1: Jimmer was was their peak in the last twenty years.
Speaker 1: But again, and this is a guy who grew up.
Speaker 1: I grew up hoooping at a Morgan church in the
Speaker 1: city of Orange in California. I seem in with my
Speaker 1: Mormon buddies, right and so UM. And then my brother
Speaker 1: was an assistant at Santego State, So I know a
Speaker 1: lot about b y U back when obviously those games
Speaker 1: were taking place. But for you growing up, was b
Speaker 1: yu the school coming because he end up now being
Speaker 1: started at Utah State? Like what was who was your
Speaker 1: what was your school? Or was it more players? Because
Speaker 1: I always thought that Mormon kids want to go to
Speaker 1: b y U first and then after that, you know,
Speaker 1: maybe Utah or then Utah State? Like what is what
Speaker 1: was the school going up? Grown up? UM? Personally, for me,
Speaker 1: it was like obviously, living in Utah County, you're surrounded
Speaker 1: by UM by U, and then there's divide, the divide
Speaker 1: between by U and Utah UM and then obviously Utah
Speaker 1: States a little more north and so down in Utah
Speaker 1: County there even when I go back home, like I'm
Speaker 1: like dang, like, we need to get some more love
Speaker 1: for the Aggies down here, whether it be in the
Speaker 1: sports stores or stuff like that, because really obviously the
Speaker 1: sports you know, stories are there to make their money,
Speaker 1: and they make a lot off of just the rivalry
Speaker 1: between by U and Utah and that division between red
Speaker 1: and Blue. Um, and so growing up, I personally really
Speaker 1: admired the players and the individuals and so Um it
Speaker 1: was always a dream of mine to play Division one basketball,
Speaker 1: and you know that with the way recruiting goes, I
Speaker 1: never really had an idea of where I wanted to
Speaker 1: actually eventually end up, and so I kind of distanced
Speaker 1: myself from kind of picking a school that I would
Speaker 1: deem as my school. But I definitely supported guys like
Speaker 1: Jimmer and then um Tyler Hawes, just the lone Peat
Speaker 1: guys were a lot of the guys that I watched
Speaker 1: and and looked up to. But then Um, right about
Speaker 1: my ninth grade year and high schools when I started
Speaker 1: noticing Um Sam and what he was doing a bountiful
Speaker 1: and um like small world comparison. One of our best
Speaker 1: family friends was actually his mission companion Um in the
Speaker 1: mission when when he served in Nicaragua, and so that's
Speaker 1: when I kind of started taking even more notice. And
Speaker 1: and when I came up to the visits here at
Speaker 1: Yourta State, Sam was always, you know, super welcoming, and
Speaker 1: it was a big part of why I wanted to
Speaker 1: come here is I wanted to to keep that legacy
Speaker 1: that he created going and UM. And so to kind
Speaker 1: of answer that question in short, I think it was
Speaker 1: really more about who my guys were rather than was
Speaker 1: I a big Utah fan or a Utah State fan
Speaker 1: or um by U fan. And with the proximity, I
Speaker 1: probably went to the most of the b I U
Speaker 1: games than than any other. What what what is the
Speaker 1: decision like as to whether or not you're gonna go
Speaker 1: on your mission? UM? A lot of it's just based
Speaker 1: on personal preference. UM. We've been asked, whether it being
Speaker 1: the scriptures or whether by the leaders of the church
Speaker 1: to share the message of the Gospel UM. And so
Speaker 1: for me, it was a hard decision, but at the
Speaker 1: same time an easy decision because I knew how important
Speaker 1: it was to share the message of hope and just
Speaker 1: of love with the world that we live in today,
Speaker 1: and so I knew that it would be an experience
Speaker 1: that UM that I couldn't pass up. And I had
Speaker 1: great examples and my dad, my my brother, and and
Speaker 1: even other guys that played basketball Olympic that that went
Speaker 1: on missions. You know, I looked up to them a lot,
Speaker 1: and and that helped facilitate my decision to serve UH. UM.
Speaker 1: There's a time where my very last high school basketball game,
Speaker 1: UM made that decision to go on a mission more
Speaker 1: difficult than it was just with the the publicity that
Speaker 1: I received from that. It was the Geico Nationals in
Speaker 1: team where we played m R. J. Barrett and Mont
Speaker 1: Bird And so that game kind of changed the course.
Speaker 1: But eventually I still end up going on my mission
Speaker 1: right after that. How you changed the course? UM? So
Speaker 1: right then, UM the coach of Utah State UM got
Speaker 1: let go and Coach Smith was just hired, and so
Speaker 1: that opened up my recruiting once again as UM as
Speaker 1: basically a non committed player. And it was right during
Speaker 1: the Final four where all the coaches are in the
Speaker 1: ballrooms and meeting with each other, and UM, I scored
Speaker 1: twenty nine points in the second half on R. J.
Speaker 1: Barrett and everybody was going crazy on Twitter here and
Speaker 1: social media and everything and um that night, my head coach,
Speaker 1: Coach Evans, got a call from the assistant coach John
Speaker 1: Shire at Duke saying, hey, we want Stephen to come.
Speaker 1: And it had been something that we were talking about
Speaker 1: early on at the beginning of my senior year. We
Speaker 1: were talking about possibly being a preferred walk on at
Speaker 1: Duke and they said that if they didn't feel all
Speaker 1: of their UM thirteen reports in scholarship positions, then UM
Speaker 1: I would be the first in line to change I
Speaker 1: preferred walk onto a scholarship spot. And so um I
Speaker 1: then got He called my coach and said, hey, we
Speaker 1: want Stephen, but not as a preferred walk on. We
Speaker 1: have that open scholarship. And so that was kind of
Speaker 1: the decision that became really tough to pass down Afreid
Speaker 1: scholarship to play at Duke to serve my mission, But
Speaker 1: ultimately came down to that I knew that that God
Speaker 1: came first and that that he'd provide away and then honestly,
Speaker 1: I couldn't be happier than than where I'm out here
Speaker 1: at Eta State. Um, so what is it? What was
Speaker 1: it like for you? They see you turned down Duke
Speaker 1: to go on a mission. Right. He also turned down
Speaker 1: Duke to stay loyal to Utah State even though um,
Speaker 1: they got rid of coach dury A and and they
Speaker 1: hire a guy and Craig Smith, who like you, you
Speaker 1: don't know? Yeah, so so uh when did you find out,
Speaker 1: like timeline wise, where you're going? Where you were going?
Speaker 1: So that game, Um, the game happened in March, and
Speaker 1: they basically Duke was saying that they want me out
Speaker 1: there in May, and then I was planned to leave
Speaker 1: on my mission in July. UM, and I already had
Speaker 1: the assignments to go to Indiana in July. And UM,
Speaker 1: and so that week after the two weeks after that tournament,
Speaker 1: we're stressful. It was a lot of condom play, sation,
Speaker 1: a lot of research, a lot of prayer on just
Speaker 1: what would be in best fit UM and best opportunity
Speaker 1: for me, and and ultimately through a lot of counsel
Speaker 1: with my family and a lot of prayer, UM, I
Speaker 1: then decided UM early April that that I'd stay committed
Speaker 1: to Utah State and UM that I was going to
Speaker 1: go there after my two year mission. Fox Sports Radio
Speaker 1: has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch
Speaker 1: all of our shows at Fox sports Radio Dot com
Speaker 1: and within the I Heart radio app search f s
Speaker 1: R to listen live. Okay, so, uh, Indiana does not
Speaker 1: seem like you know, Sam goes to Sam goes to Nicaragua.
Speaker 1: You go to Indiana. Um, so you do to Indiana?
Speaker 1: What was your what was your because I know they
Speaker 1: move you around as well, what was your first spot
Speaker 1: like when you get to Indiana. Um? So my first
Speaker 1: spot in Indiana, I was in Um there's a town
Speaker 1: called Avon. It's just west of Indianapolis. It it borders
Speaker 1: or some towns of Brownsburg and um and some stuff
Speaker 1: just out the Highway of four sixty five out there.
Speaker 1: And it was great. Um, there's a lot of diversity
Speaker 1: in Indiana that I that I didn't know there was.
Speaker 1: I thought it was mainly gonna be a lot of
Speaker 1: corn fields and um outdoor basketball hoops, which there were
Speaker 1: plenty of that, um, but inside the city and and
Speaker 1: the city's bordering Indianapolis, there's a lot of different diversity
Speaker 1: which was super cool to learn about and um into experience.
Speaker 1: And then I was actually in one of the only
Speaker 1: apartment complexes with an indoor basketball court. So that was Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was perfect. That was a perfect kind of adjustment
Speaker 1: into a into a mission with the opportunity that I
Speaker 1: could just walk down into the basement of the of
Speaker 1: the apartment complex and had a nice little half court setup,
Speaker 1: which was fun. Okay, So, but so that's like the
Speaker 1: opposite of most guys. So many guys they even touch
Speaker 1: of basketball. Yeah, yeah, I mean I have I have
Speaker 1: teammates like Brock Miller who like, we still make a joke.
Speaker 1: He's like, man, like, did you even go on a mission?
Speaker 1: And I was like, yes, I went on a mission.
Speaker 1: I maybe got to play a lot of basketball on
Speaker 1: that mission, but I did go on a mission. And
Speaker 1: Brock he touched the ball like three times, and just
Speaker 1: the culture there he went. Um, he went to South
Speaker 1: America as well, and you know it's a lot of
Speaker 1: soccer and um, that's how you kind of connect with
Speaker 1: the people there. And luckily in Indiana, basically everybody that
Speaker 1: wanted to hear the message also wanted to play basketball,
Speaker 1: and so we'd play a little bit and then then
Speaker 1: after playing, the questions and start coming of like how
Speaker 1: are you so good? Because they don't expect a little
Speaker 1: white kid and a shirt and tie to to be
Speaker 1: a hooper or anything. So it was funny. So, UM,
Speaker 1: what's that? What was that existence like for you? Um
Speaker 1: in Indiana preaching the gospel? Um? You know, yeah, I
Speaker 1: know you have a partner with you. What what was
Speaker 1: you What was your experienced like on your mission in
Speaker 1: terms of not the basketball element, the element of sharing
Speaker 1: the gospel. Yeah, I mean, honestly, it was life changing,
Speaker 1: um for me. And UM, you know, there's a lot
Speaker 1: of people that I was able to share the message
Speaker 1: of Jesus Christ and the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ
Speaker 1: UM to a lot of people who are confused. Um,
Speaker 1: they didn't know what to believe. Uh. I think especially
Speaker 1: with Christianity today and how many different religions there are,
Speaker 1: and how many different beliefs there are, a lot of
Speaker 1: people just want some common ground, wants some understanding of
Speaker 1: of why that happened. And Um, through my study and
Speaker 1: knowledge of the Church of Jesus Christ glatiy Saints, I're
Speaker 1: be able to teach them about, um, the confusion that
Speaker 1: went on after Christ left and and how so many
Speaker 1: people have have different views, and how a lot of
Speaker 1: those views are very similar, but how there's specific things
Speaker 1: that that God once done, and and it was cool
Speaker 1: to be able to bring that piece to them, which
Speaker 1: brought peace to me. And I was able to see
Speaker 1: my witness and testimony of Jesus Christ grow as I
Speaker 1: was teaching it to others, which was I think the
Speaker 1: biggest blessing of it all. Honestly. Well, okay, so so
Speaker 1: I died deeper into that for me, if you would. Okay,
Speaker 1: So it feels like what you're saying is like, look,
Speaker 1: you always believed, right, you always believe, you always had faith.
Speaker 1: But again, this is just me who I have no
Speaker 1: basis of knowledge. Yeah, it feels like though by sharing
Speaker 1: it and by by having these discussions all of a
Speaker 1: sudden now became a lot more real to you. But
Speaker 1: but but explain what that like? Go a little further on, Yeah,
Speaker 1: what what became more real? Toy? What specifically did you
Speaker 1: feel differently about when you were sharing it? Yeah? I think, Um,
Speaker 1: like one of the biggest things that that I thought
Speaker 1: of over and over again is like, Um, before my mission,
Speaker 1: I would say that I believed in Jesus Christ. Like
Speaker 1: I believe that that he did come to earth. I
Speaker 1: believed that he was God's son. Um, I believe that
Speaker 1: he performed miracles. I believed that um, he was resurrected
Speaker 1: and that because of that we can all live again together. UM.
Speaker 1: But after my mission, and even during it, I felt
Speaker 1: like the term really became I believe Jesus Christ. UM.
Speaker 1: So it's not necessarily believing in him, but like I
Speaker 1: believe him, I believe his words. I believe that when
Speaker 1: he says he can heal me, he can forgive me
Speaker 1: him as my sins. UM. It became very more real.
Speaker 1: And so I think that UM, when you one of
Speaker 1: the best ways to learn something is by teaching it UM.
Speaker 1: And I think that even applies to basketball. Right. One
Speaker 1: of the best things that I learn more about a
Speaker 1: move or learn more about a shooting technique is when
Speaker 1: I have young kids that are like, hey, how do
Speaker 1: you do this right? And it takes me a minutes
Speaker 1: think and say, well, I've done it forever. I know
Speaker 1: how to do it, but but how would I help
Speaker 1: you do it? And so when I think about Jesus Christ,
Speaker 1: it's you know, I believe in Jesus Christ, but when
Speaker 1: somebody asks me, well how do I or how can they? Um,
Speaker 1: it becomes very more real. And the sense of how
Speaker 1: I got that testimony, um, and how I've seen it
Speaker 1: change over the years, and um, and honestly, right when
Speaker 1: I got back from it, lisn't it It needs to
Speaker 1: be the same thing. You know, if I'm not reading
Speaker 1: my scriptures, are praying daily, then I can feel that
Speaker 1: that sense of you know, kind of taking a step back. Um.
Speaker 1: The same thing is true with with anything in our lives,
Speaker 1: whether it's basketball, work, education. You know, if we're not
Speaker 1: trying to excel at it, um, I think we're we're
Speaker 1: de slling in a way. So UM, I've always wondered,
Speaker 1: you know, like this goes back to when I was
Speaker 1: at au Player middle school, high school. We play, we
Speaker 1: play Utah teams and they can all shoot and they
Speaker 1: don't play. But also it always felt like they were
Speaker 1: like physical and tough. And it's honestly like your boy
Speaker 1: being is like this where if I met you in
Speaker 1: the hallway of like, man, that's the nicest kid ever,
Speaker 1: and I play against you, I'm like, I don't like
Speaker 1: they're so physical and and and and not. And I
Speaker 1: know some of the b y Utah Stoup they get dirty, right,
Speaker 1: but it's like just to that limit of physicality, what's
Speaker 1: that what's that like to carry it's a little bit
Speaker 1: of a burden right where you're You're a little white
Speaker 1: kid from Utah. Dudes are gonna come at you. You know,
Speaker 1: you spent a couple of years, you know, preaching the gospel.
Speaker 1: So everybody, so guys think you're soft? Why do you?
Speaker 1: How do you overcome that? Like? What is the we
Speaker 1: can we can sit around go in circles and talk
Speaker 1: about how we're not supposed to have stereotypes. But the
Speaker 1: truth is when you walk into gym, but it's like
Speaker 1: shoot up right, but they also think you're soft? How
Speaker 1: do you overcome a stereotype like that? Where does that?
Speaker 1: Where does it come from? And I don't think it's
Speaker 1: just you. I do think it's uh something about a
Speaker 1: lot of dudes from Utah. Yeah, I think it's um.
Speaker 1: I don't know if it's I totally agree with that.
Speaker 1: I think I'll start with that. I think that, um,
Speaker 1: you know, we got the chess team joke a lot
Speaker 1: um where wherever we were going, it's like, oh, like
Speaker 1: this is gonna be easy. So I think that one
Speaker 1: of the things that that it stems from is just
Speaker 1: the fact that when when anybody's underestimated, um, there there's
Speaker 1: a sense of I have to prove something. And and
Speaker 1: I think that, um, when you look at guys that are,
Speaker 1: you know, skinny shooters, UM, I feel like we often
Speaker 1: feel like we're we're underestimated in our toughness and so
Speaker 1: as sometimes we get even more um tough than we
Speaker 1: we'd ever actually want to be. And so with that
Speaker 1: like an over like almost an overcompensation. Yeah, yeah, it
Speaker 1: becomes a little bit of an over compensation type of
Speaker 1: thing where I even without you telling me what you're thinking,
Speaker 1: I know what you're thinking because I've experienced it time
Speaker 1: and time again, and so when I'm out there on
Speaker 1: the court, it's it's something especially to me as a
Speaker 1: as a short um white point guard. UM. And you know,
Speaker 1: as you watched this year me and Ryanan Jones played together,
Speaker 1: I think that, um, you'll see both of us like
Speaker 1: our games are very similar because it's the only way
Speaker 1: that we can make it to where we are today. Um.
Speaker 1: If we weren't scrappy, if we weren't tough, if we
Speaker 1: couldn't shoot the lights out of the gym, then then
Speaker 1: we wouldn't have the oppert tunity to be or at
Speaker 1: And I think that that you understand that just as
Speaker 1: well with with how well you've played in different situations
Speaker 1: like that. And so, UM, I think that it also
Speaker 1: it stems from there is kind of a whispers going
Speaker 1: on in the state of Utah high school basketball that
Speaker 1: people don't think we're as good as we are, and
Speaker 1: so there's there's something to prove whenever we have the
Speaker 1: chance to go outside of the state. And um, and
Speaker 1: I remember in my high school career, whenever anybody would
Speaker 1: go out of state, we always wanted them to win,
Speaker 1: even though we wanted to beat them in the state championship,
Speaker 1: we wanted them to beat whoever they're playing out in
Speaker 1: California or Florida or Atlanta type of things like that.
Speaker 1: And so, uh, I think I think that's kind of
Speaker 1: where it stems from. Um. So you guys have so
Speaker 1: much success last year and then coach Smith leaves and
Speaker 1: goes to Utah. Um, what was your world like when
Speaker 1: that happened? Um, it was tough at first, just because, Um,
Speaker 1: you create this culture, you create this family, and then
Speaker 1: you feel like the father figure just kind of walks
Speaker 1: out on you and and you understand why, but at
Speaker 1: the same time, you don't know why because of all
Speaker 1: the things that were said and all the things that
Speaker 1: were taught. UM. But at the end of the day,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm never gonna you know, be upset with
Speaker 1: somebody who who needed to improve their situation. UM. And
Speaker 1: if he felt like if that wasn't improve of his situation,
Speaker 1: and that's his his decision. UM. But I remember finding
Speaker 1: out on Twitter UM that he was leaving, and then
Speaker 1: the team got a text message later from him, and
Speaker 1: I just remember talking with being okay, like it doesn't
Speaker 1: matter what what's gonna happen, like who we're gonna get,
Speaker 1: Like we're aggies, Like this is our place, is where
Speaker 1: we're supposed to be UM. And so it turned not
Speaker 1: being perfect, and with coach Odam coming in it, it's
Speaker 1: been a great fit and we're all excited for what
Speaker 1: what we've got to to prove this year and what
Speaker 1: we've got to do, and so I think it'll be
Speaker 1: really good once again. Kind of weird that with guys
Speaker 1: like you know, uh, you know Riley leaves. Obviously, some
Speaker 1: guys have stayed, some guys left you and you and
Speaker 1: being him have stuck it out together. Yeah, first, did
Speaker 1: you did you ever think of leaving? No? No, not really.
Speaker 1: I mean when the whole news came out, it was
Speaker 1: really more of a um a situation of just like
Speaker 1: let the cards fall where they may, um and like
Speaker 1: I never made plans to enter the trans reporter and
Speaker 1: never made plans to talk with any other coaches. Um,
Speaker 1: it was really just between me and my guys. And
Speaker 1: I felt confident that, really I felt confident if if
Speaker 1: we could have been in Rock, uh stay that we
Speaker 1: can build pieces. Whoever comes in, whoever else stays that
Speaker 1: we can build some great pieces around that. And and
Speaker 1: that's what's happened. And we've had some great pieces come
Speaker 1: in and some other great players stay with us, and
Speaker 1: so I'm excited. So how old is brock Brock? What
Speaker 1: does say he's twenty five? Turn in twenty six? I
Speaker 1: mean he's I feel like he's almost old enough to
Speaker 1: be on the Lakers. Not yet. If the Laker isn't
Speaker 1: need an next you man, Rock might Rock might have
Speaker 1: to believe us for a few weeks you don't play
Speaker 1: with them. But yeah, it's it's a running look that
Speaker 1: we call him grandpa. Um. You know, he's seen a
Speaker 1: few a few sunrises, a few sunsets in his days
Speaker 1: but yeah, I think that, especially in the realm of
Speaker 1: college basketball, you can never underestimate how important it is
Speaker 1: to have a guy like brock Um and guys with
Speaker 1: experience like that, especially tournament times and when times get
Speaker 1: rested in the season, because there's always up and downs
Speaker 1: during the season. But to have guys who know how
Speaker 1: important it is to stay positive, to stay together as
Speaker 1: is always vitable to have on the team. They have
Speaker 1: the suxpression in basketball. In college basketball, get old and
Speaker 1: stay old another one. No one accomplishes that better than
Speaker 1: brock Dollar right like he he totally gets it. Okay.
Speaker 1: So um, social media is fascinating, right, it really is
Speaker 1: that you know some women, but I feel like they're
Speaker 1: thirsty right there. They're looking for attention for you. People
Speaker 1: have known you since high school game that where you
Speaker 1: live up Mumford and then in college now you succeeded
Speaker 1: and Utah State though it's not some gigantic fan base
Speaker 1: like it is a very vibrant fan base. Okay. So
Speaker 1: they opened up the name image and likeness Steel and
Speaker 1: I know you put this posting some stuff for oh
Speaker 1: is body armor? Yeah body arm? Right? Yep? So did
Speaker 1: they did they respond at all, yeah, yeah, So I've
Speaker 1: actually had some great conversations with some companies, like that
Speaker 1: UM body armor was a cool one. I was actually
Speaker 1: um they I messaged them just saying like, hey, I'm
Speaker 1: sure you're aware of the name, image and likeness rules
Speaker 1: that have just changed, and this is this is probably
Speaker 1: the day of namings and image and likeness. Because I'll
Speaker 1: be honest, before Namings and Lightness came out, one of
Speaker 1: the first thing I was thinking is like, how do
Speaker 1: I get free body armor? How did I get by
Speaker 1: a body armor? Just because um, you know there's other
Speaker 1: drinks out there, but one of my things is that
Speaker 1: body armor. To me, it feels like water, but it
Speaker 1: has a nice flavor to to where it's not too sugary,
Speaker 1: especially like the body Armor of Light. And so I
Speaker 1: DM them the day name it was like came out
Speaker 1: and they probably responded UM two weeks later and they said, hey, Steven,
Speaker 1: thanks so much reaching reaching out, UM fill out this
Speaker 1: links We're about to post UM something with with name
Speaker 1: images and lightnessed athletes and so UM they reasot to
Speaker 1: me and I filled it out and then later that
Speaker 1: that week I see that they started this UM brand
Speaker 1: new ambassador thing for body armor. Body armoru is what
Speaker 1: they called it. And so they sent me um a
Speaker 1: few packages already and um, then we'll kind of see
Speaker 1: what goes on from there. Obviously, it would be cool
Speaker 1: to have it be more of a frequent thing and
Speaker 1: maybe one of the the college athletes that gets an
Speaker 1: opportunity to be in a commercial or advertisement for them
Speaker 1: or something like that. But so it kind of it
Speaker 1: kind of feels like like, you know, Oprah does Oprah's
Speaker 1: favorite things, right, and this is a good philosophy for you.
Speaker 1: It's like pick out the stuff that you really like,
Speaker 1: you legit us and then hit him up and go like, hey,
Speaker 1: do you want to do a name, image and likeness
Speaker 1: and and and see see where it goes? Right, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1: And um, and I've thought I have some good mentors
Speaker 1: um that understand the business aspect and branding. And so
Speaker 1: it's been good because you know, nobody's gonna want to
Speaker 1: buy something that that I promote if I don't actually
Speaker 1: use it, you know, and so um, it wouldn't make
Speaker 1: sense as a part of my brand either to promote
Speaker 1: something I don't stand for you. So, um, hair you
Speaker 1: gotta do hair product right, Altho. I actually Boneyard Barbering is.
Speaker 1: We've been a few things with them, and so he's
Speaker 1: excited for you to come get your cut when you
Speaker 1: come compensate one of our games this year. I just
Speaker 1: gotta fresh you here in Orange County, but I'm going
Speaker 1: to bone Yard. Yeah, I just you know, I wish
Speaker 1: I had somebody that good when I was in school
Speaker 1: when I had better hair. You know, I had great hair.
Speaker 1: I had great hair, but I used to we had
Speaker 1: a guy who passed away whispering Richard, and he'd like
Speaker 1: he was like coaches this guy, but he wasn't very good.
Speaker 1: He was a super nice guy. I cut my own hair.
Speaker 1: One of your teammates that come cut your hair is
Speaker 1: just terrible fades. You know, you're like you look back,
Speaker 1: You're like, God, it was so I was so cheap.
Speaker 1: But now you don't have to meet you. Now you'd
Speaker 1: be like, hey, look, dude, have you cut my hair?
Speaker 1: I'll give you. I'll promote you, right like that that's
Speaker 1: to do, Yeah, exactly. And uh, we've been talking about
Speaker 1: some other ideas and he actually has some hair um
Speaker 1: cream that that I use, and so we've been talking
Speaker 1: about different ways to possibly promote that and and and
Speaker 1: get that out to people, which is which is a
Speaker 1: really good product. And and so I've also I've talked
Speaker 1: to Whoop, who just released their new product and um
Speaker 1: and they messaged me back with just some feedback that
Speaker 1: that they haven't quite figured out there logistical um, you know,
Speaker 1: stance on um on Whoop and sponsoring college athletes. Social
Speaker 1: happens there as well. Yeah, so it's gonna end up.
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm surprised you have. You got to be
Speaker 1: like a NASCAR guy when I interviewed you, you know,
Speaker 1: you're like, hey, thanks, you know, like the Whoop hair
Speaker 1: and the night can in the and the I was
Speaker 1: drinking body armor and then you start answering the questions, right,
Speaker 1: you gotta drop in like all the all the all
Speaker 1: the all the sponsors. Um. I see, I think, I mean,
Speaker 1: I'll be honestly, I think the the other than the
Speaker 1: things that you like the other ones you can do
Speaker 1: is find companies that are owned or run by Mormons
Speaker 1: and then somehow integrated into you know, hey, a portion
Speaker 1: of whatever again is going to the to the church.
Speaker 1: And like then you you kind of make it like
Speaker 1: the Mormon Mafia where all the Mormon companies are the
Speaker 1: ones that supports you guys name, image and likeness. Yeah, Um,
Speaker 1: you're also married, right, four months now? Yeah? Four months now? Um,
Speaker 1: what's that like? What's it like? It's been great. Um
Speaker 1: got married to petson um In in May of this year,
Speaker 1: and um, we're high school sweethearts. We went in high school,
Speaker 1: and um, I went on my mission and she went
Speaker 1: to to Paraguay on her mission, so she kind of
Speaker 1: got the same vibe of Sam and Brock. Um not
Speaker 1: much basketball, right, so you're you're like, you're in You're
Speaker 1: in Indiana pooping in some some nice apartment complex Parauay. Yeah,
Speaker 1: your experience could not be more different. Yeah, literally couldn't
Speaker 1: be more different. Absolutely, And so anytime you go to
Speaker 1: you know, I'm guessing they speak Spanish and Petaway, right,
Speaker 1: so I'm sure anytime somebody somebody speaking Spanish, she goes
Speaker 1: flips the flips the switch, and all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: you're like, whoa, whoa, what is going on there? Yeah?
Speaker 1: It was perfect. We actually went on our honeymoon to
Speaker 1: Porta Arta and so she got to basically run the
Speaker 1: show down there, which is perfect. And so um, it's
Speaker 1: been great though married last one. It's fun to have somebody,
Speaker 1: UM to live with up here in Logan, especially because
Speaker 1: we're doing long distance all last year because she was
Speaker 1: going down um to school down in Provo, and so
Speaker 1: it's good to have her up here and to have
Speaker 1: somebody up here. Wait, you got her to transfer, so
Speaker 1: that she she did, she entered the transfer portal and
Speaker 1: then you got to us you so she didn't quite
Speaker 1: enter the transfer portal. She did move. But she's just
Speaker 1: doing online and you know, with with COVID, it was
Speaker 1: able to you know, kind of work out to where
Speaker 1: there's a lot more online availability and so she's still
Speaker 1: doing her degree online and UM this next summer she
Speaker 1: might have to take some classes down there in person.
Speaker 1: But so far it's worked out really well. What what what?
Speaker 1: What are the challenges like? And I know you guys
Speaker 1: haven't in full season and you guys are having practice
Speaker 1: and workouts, but UM, easier or more difficult now that
Speaker 1: you have a spouse right now, you like, you have
Speaker 1: you have basketball, you have school, and you have a wife.
Speaker 1: How How has your how are your days change? Last year? Yeah?
Speaker 1: I think um, one of the biggest things is just prioritizing, Um,
Speaker 1: you know, prioritizing what's important. Um, there's obviously some necessities
Speaker 1: that will have to take care of every day, her
Speaker 1: being first, and then obviously basketball practice and weights and
Speaker 1: and other school work that will have to take place. Um.
Speaker 1: And so I think rather than after finishing my my
Speaker 1: school work and after finishing all my workouts just hanging
Speaker 1: out with the boys, it's been a lot more time
Speaker 1: with with her doing things that she wants to do.
Speaker 1: But she's also been super supportive of all the name,
Speaker 1: image and likeness stuff. And um, she'll even come to
Speaker 1: the gym and rebound for me after um, after she
Speaker 1: gets home from work, and so we have some fun
Speaker 1: times bonding out there and we go play called. We
Speaker 1: play golf quite a bit together. Um. She's a golfer,
Speaker 1: so that's nice. And she better than you, not quite,
Speaker 1: not quite. I'm playing pretty oh and I don't play great.
Speaker 1: She's she's better, but I've been playing pretty well recently.
Speaker 1: Same teeese, same tea boxes, no different tea boxes. What
Speaker 1: what is the biggest difference I will notice in you
Speaker 1: playing for coach on. I think the biggest difference you'll
Speaker 1: notice is freedom. Um, I feel like I played pretty
Speaker 1: freely last year, but I still had more to give
Speaker 1: and more to offer, I felt like, And I think
Speaker 1: that the way that our offense is set up this
Speaker 1: year and just the different tools that we have, will
Speaker 1: be able to play with a lot more freedom and UM,
Speaker 1: and I think you'll see a lot more of me
Speaker 1: creating and then facilitating um off of screen and roll
Speaker 1: and just off of I've improved quite a bit this
Speaker 1: off season with just dribble penetration and being able to
Speaker 1: make decisions in the lane. And that was a focus
Speaker 1: just after last year, looking at the percentages from two
Speaker 1: points and three point line and um and wanting to
Speaker 1: obviously improve that, and you know, the goal to be
Speaker 1: like stuff curry with club and and stuff like that.
Speaker 1: And so that's probably the biggest difference you'll see. You're
Speaker 1: an incredible free throw shooter. What's your routine? Um? My,
Speaker 1: My similar routine when I get to the line is
Speaker 1: is I'll take a deep breath, I'll focus on the
Speaker 1: very front of the rim um and then I'll just
Speaker 1: take one dribble and then get it into that shooting
Speaker 1: pocket and straight up and always started to line up.
Speaker 1: I don't necessarily line up my foot with the nail.
Speaker 1: I try to line up with where I released the
Speaker 1: ball with the nail, which is just a little bit
Speaker 1: to the right side of my of my head shows
Speaker 1: the nail. So is the nail slightly to the right
Speaker 1: of your foot? How do you? How do you like?
Speaker 1: How do you? How do you line up your your
Speaker 1: feet with the nail? Yeah, so my my right foot
Speaker 1: would be slightly outside of the nail, So the nail
Speaker 1: is gonna be um inside well the left right, Yes,
Speaker 1: to the left. So if I'm shoot, because you shoot,
Speaker 1: you you have that perfect shot where you shoot off
Speaker 1: your right shoulder. Yeah, right here? So yeah, okay, so okay,
Speaker 1: so you take you take a breath first, you line
Speaker 1: up your feet, take a breath. Um. You you look
Speaker 1: at the front, front of the rim. You take one
Speaker 1: drillable shot. Pockets you Are you saying anything to yourself?
Speaker 1: Are you? Is there some some way in which you
Speaker 1: finish every time? Like any anything else? Yeah? So one
Speaker 1: of the things that I always do, um is actually
Speaker 1: when I take my dribble, I'll say swish um. And
Speaker 1: so I'm not thinking. I think I kind of started
Speaker 1: that in around eighth grade. I stopped thinking like, oh,
Speaker 1: I should make this shot. Um, and it's and it's
Speaker 1: kind of changed my mindset, which I think has really helped.
Speaker 1: Like I don't make shots. I want to switch shots
Speaker 1: because I'm already expecting it to go in and so, um,
Speaker 1: if I swish it, then I then I'm really pleased.
Speaker 1: If I make it, that's great. Um. And then also
Speaker 1: just in the in the practice of it, I never
Speaker 1: leave a gym without making ten free doze in a row. Um.
Speaker 1: And so that's kind of and obviously I shoot a
Speaker 1: lot of free throws throughout the workout. Um. And I
Speaker 1: try to integrate it to where you know, I'm getting
Speaker 1: a high heart rate and so it's a game like
Speaker 1: to where I've got to slow it down just a
Speaker 1: little bit, but PHIL still feel it to where I'm
Speaker 1: making in pressure situations and then I'm feeling good. Um.
Speaker 1: You mentioned your workouts, Um how many? How many? Is
Speaker 1: there a number of shots you try and get up
Speaker 1: every day? Yeah, So um, I'm actually starting uh. Um,
Speaker 1: I've created a few workout plans and I'm actually gonna
Speaker 1: gonna promote it um here in the next week or so.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna try try to create a training brand in
Speaker 1: a way. UM, and I'm gonna call it the Breakfast
Speaker 1: Club after one of the famous stories of Kobe Bryant
Speaker 1: and the USA Olympic team back in two thousand and
Speaker 1: eight and how they called themselves the Breakfast Club because
Speaker 1: they were getting up early, They're getting their work done
Speaker 1: early before practice and then, um, it just kind of
Speaker 1: unified the team. And so, UM, the goal is to
Speaker 1: make to make five shots today, um, And so it
Speaker 1: would be considered the five hundred club. And a lot
Speaker 1: of that is is off the dribble. A lot of
Speaker 1: that is form shots, trying to make sure that um,
Speaker 1: you know, sometimes inside the five round, sometimes outside. So
Speaker 1: maybe it'll be a little more than I'm making at
Speaker 1: least a fifty two hundred form shots today, just to
Speaker 1: make sure that it's all dial in one workout or
Speaker 1: or do you do you have a plan to where
Speaker 1: you go in the morning and you go in the evening, Like,
Speaker 1: how how does it in your mind? What's what's the
Speaker 1: best way to do so my Um, ideally I would
Speaker 1: say it's five one workout, um, and then it just
Speaker 1: depends based on my day. UM. If I know that
Speaker 1: I don't have enough time to make the five dred
Speaker 1: in between class and before practice or other things, and
Speaker 1: I'll get in as many as I can, and then
Speaker 1: I'll save some of it for after practice, and then
Speaker 1: I'll get in the rest of it. UM. And so
Speaker 1: ideally it would be just to be able to set
Speaker 1: a time apart to where you know you can get
Speaker 1: in that five but if it needs to be split
Speaker 1: into you know, an hour in the morning and an
Speaker 1: hour at night. UM. It typically takes me probably uh
Speaker 1: seventy five minutes to finish five dred on the move off,
Speaker 1: you know, and I obviously try to shoot some just
Speaker 1: standing standing still shooting because you do get some of
Speaker 1: those in the game, but a lot of those are
Speaker 1: sprinting to a corner, sprinting in transition. Just to make
Speaker 1: it as game like as possible. You you never you
Speaker 1: don't use your thumb. It's a it's a it's a
Speaker 1: perfect shot. Yeah, how did you developed it? Like? When
Speaker 1: did you have the strength to to shoot with one
Speaker 1: hand and no no left thumb. I that started actually
Speaker 1: in um in eighth grade. So in eighth grade was
Speaker 1: when um quincy Lewis actually he pulled me aside after
Speaker 1: one of the open gyms that we were having and
Speaker 1: he said, hey, uh, it's gonna be hard with it.
Speaker 1: Something that you're gonna need to do to play at
Speaker 1: the next level. Um. And he actually walked through with
Speaker 1: me the changing because you know, I kind of used
Speaker 1: my thumb and out and I'll push it from hereath
Speaker 1: my chin a little bit just was it was still
Speaker 1: a good form, but obviously it wasn't perfect and and
Speaker 1: he just worked on elevating it more to upright above
Speaker 1: my forehead so where I could get it and um.
Speaker 1: And he worked and honestly, um, and something I still did.
Speaker 1: They were worked on a lot where I would just
Speaker 1: cut it like this, the ball then one hand turn
Speaker 1: and over and turning over and then UM. I remember
Speaker 1: George talking to George Hill a few years ago and
Speaker 1: he was telling me that was like the first year
Speaker 1: he got to the Spurs, Um, he shot it all right,
Speaker 1: and he thought he had a great shot, and then
Speaker 1: that next summer that k, we need to change your shot.
Speaker 1: And he was saying that he would make five form
Speaker 1: shots today and they wouldn't let him shoot outside of
Speaker 1: outside of ten ft for a month and he just
Speaker 1: had to shoot it over and over and he's like
Speaker 1: just because of you know, and I think anybody that
Speaker 1: wants to change their shot, they just have to be
Speaker 1: basment enough to to give it the time to develop,
Speaker 1: because it's not gonna be perfect after a day or
Speaker 1: even a few days or even a few weeks. It
Speaker 1: takes that time, but being confident enough that that it
Speaker 1: will pay off in the end, which which it has
Speaker 1: for me. Um when you now you told me you
Speaker 1: say switch when you shoot a free throw? Is are there?
Speaker 1: What are the thoughts or do you have any when
Speaker 1: you're in a game as far as shooting the basketball?
Speaker 1: Do you have any thoughts? Things you save yourself, things
Speaker 1: that you always do, like as part of kind of
Speaker 1: your catch and shoot or go off the dribble routine. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So one thing that I always try to do is
Speaker 1: that before I get into the into the form of it,
Speaker 1: because that's becomes second nature. I always started to focus
Speaker 1: on the front three prongs of the rim, so where
Speaker 1: the net connects with the rim, I'll try to find
Speaker 1: three of those, and sometimes you can only find two
Speaker 1: based on the angle you're at, and you just kind
Speaker 1: of I always try to aim right for that middle
Speaker 1: prong um and then I focus on the rim all
Speaker 1: the way until I release it, and then typically about
Speaker 1: the last you know, seven too to nine ft of
Speaker 1: it coming down, I'll actually look at the ball and
Speaker 1: I'll see if if it was going in between those
Speaker 1: three and then after that I know if it was
Speaker 1: a little right but still went in, then I know
Speaker 1: that I either turned my hand a little too much
Speaker 1: or it was just maybe because of the way I
Speaker 1: was balanced. Um. And so that's actually something that I
Speaker 1: learned from Steph Curry watching a few of his of
Speaker 1: his documentaries and different things of of how he likes
Speaker 1: to shoot in it something that that I tried and
Speaker 1: I really liked. So he looks at ball flight. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so he's Um, he's a ball flight shooter. UM. And
Speaker 1: I know that some guys are heavily never look at
Speaker 1: the ball. Some guys look right after they release it. UM.
Speaker 1: But my thing is always that I've nactually kind of
Speaker 1: always looked at the rim and then seen the ball
Speaker 1: come over. But I've I've started more so looking at it,
Speaker 1: and then it's given me a better idea too of
Speaker 1: what the trajectory was like um on its way to
Speaker 1: the rim, of if it was too flat or even
Speaker 1: if it had too much arc, which which is hard
Speaker 1: to do. But um, those type of things that I
Speaker 1: can look at and analyze the best in your mind,
Speaker 1: from shooter to shooter to step the best shooter, Yes,
Speaker 1: seven Gray is the greatest shooter of all time in
Speaker 1: my mind. I think that that you can pick a
Speaker 1: few things of maybe Clay Thompson has a prettier shot,
Speaker 1: or a better form, or maybe a better stand still shooter.
Speaker 1: But I think when you're talking about a shooter, you
Speaker 1: have to be able to attribute every single shot in
Speaker 1: every single aspect. That he can go right, he can
Speaker 1: go left, and obviously he gets an unbelievably quick release
Speaker 1: and unlimited range. Like but the idea that you can
Speaker 1: go right and left and stand still, it's crazy. It's
Speaker 1: just it's it's you know, because most everybody else everybody
Speaker 1: has like I really like. Like I remember when I
Speaker 1: was Notre Dame. We we ran a play called three side.
Speaker 1: My coach was, uh, the late John McLeod is, an
Speaker 1: old NBA coach, and for until the very last game
Speaker 1: of the year, every pick and roll we ran was
Speaker 1: to the right. He's like, well, you're right handed, Like, yeah,
Speaker 1: right hand is most guys actually shoot the ball better
Speaker 1: going left. I couldn't really confidently shoot, and I would
Speaker 1: work on it every day in the college. But I,
Speaker 1: like my whole life, I was off the dripple going left.
Speaker 1: But the idea that he can shoot going either way
Speaker 1: is just that's the most remarkable. Yeah, And I think that,
Speaker 1: like I've looked at that and even just the way that, like,
Speaker 1: like I was even talking about this with Ray than
Speaker 1: the other day, like a crossover pull up has never
Speaker 1: felt natural to me, Like, well, not just that, but
Speaker 1: listen here, here's the it's not just it's not natural.
Speaker 1: That was always deemed to be a bad shot. Yeah,
Speaker 1: never shoot. I was always never shoot off across him.
Speaker 1: And then he like he violates that right. I mean,
Speaker 1: but he makes such a high percentage and he must
Speaker 1: it must be from working on it and his balance
Speaker 1: and how cleanly he picks it up. Do you see
Speaker 1: you've seen the ball when you pick it up. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So I'm a big seam shooter. Um, anywhere I catch it,
Speaker 1: I always it will be usually a left hand kind
Speaker 1: of turn to get teams. Have you did you have
Speaker 1: you practiced as do you have any tricks for that? Um?
Speaker 1: I think part of it is that. Um, I have
Speaker 1: actually had UM workouts where I'd sell them never pass
Speaker 1: it to me with the seams, And so with that is,
Speaker 1: I'll always catch it off the seam, and I always
Speaker 1: have to quickly turn it or there's even part of
Speaker 1: me that UM like I was, I'm have a little
Speaker 1: level of O C D. And so whenever I passed
Speaker 1: the ball, I always pass it to him where it's
Speaker 1: in the part of scene on the seams, in the pocket.
Speaker 1: And so UM, I can actually when the ball is
Speaker 1: coming to me. I actually I don't know if I've
Speaker 1: practiced it or if it's just become a second nature.
Speaker 1: I can actually see where the seams are, um. And
Speaker 1: so I actually tend to change my hand position of
Speaker 1: how I catch it to where it catches it on
Speaker 1: the seams, so I don't necessarily have to turn it
Speaker 1: as much. Okay, I never hadn't heard of that trick.
Speaker 1: That's a that's a really good one. Last thing, shoes, Um,
Speaker 1: what what is your what is your? Not? Was your
Speaker 1: shoe game? Like? Do you wear the same shoes all season?
Speaker 1: Do you change them after a loss? Do you wait
Speaker 1: until they're just like flat tires and they're dead? Um?
Speaker 1: Is there a certain style of shoe you know that
Speaker 1: like I will only wear these shoes you mentioned O
Speaker 1: C D. Guys that have a little O C D
Speaker 1: to have they do the same thing. What give me
Speaker 1: your your your shoe, your shoe, not your shoe game
Speaker 1: in terms of what do you wear around town or
Speaker 1: your shoe game in terms of playing. Yeah, first off,
Speaker 1: I'll only playing Nikes, um and and that's the only
Speaker 1: shoe I'll wear on the court. Um. And then secondly,
Speaker 1: I'm a Kobe guy. I grew up a Lakers fan. Um.
Speaker 1: My dad taught me young that that we're Lakers fans,
Speaker 1: and I always like sacrilegion. Utah, it is a little bit.
Speaker 1: But my dad's from Vegas and so we're Dodgers fans.
Speaker 1: Were Lakers fans, you know. That was the closest sports seamen.
Speaker 1: And his grandpa was big Lakers and Dodges fans. So
Speaker 1: he grew up going to the games, which were about
Speaker 1: two hours away from Vegas and so um, so I
Speaker 1: grew up wearing Kobe's and um. And then when I
Speaker 1: was on my mission, he passed. UM and I still
Speaker 1: remember that day, just sitting in church and I got
Speaker 1: a message like, hey, Kobe just died, and I was like,
Speaker 1: wait what um but wait, olga, let's let's let's go
Speaker 1: to that day. Okay, I'll tell you where I was show.
Speaker 1: I had gotten back from calling a game. My daughter
Speaker 1: isn't equestrian writer, and we're sitting there and she's warming
Speaker 1: up and all of a sudden, I get a text.
Speaker 1: It's like, there's no way this is real. And then
Speaker 1: a couple of dudes like, no way, no way, and
Speaker 1: all my friends they think, because you know you when
Speaker 1: you work in sports, like like I somehow know what's
Speaker 1: a real story, and I do, but like not when
Speaker 1: it breaks. And then they're like, did you check Twitter?
Speaker 1: Kobe died And I looked at was like and like
Speaker 1: and and no one knew his real faith but it
Speaker 1: was TMZ and generally they don't miss. Right. Um, So
Speaker 1: my daughter actually, then she's riding in the ring in
Speaker 1: a show. She is great, she wins, and she gets
Speaker 1: the other rings. She's walking her horseback to her to
Speaker 1: the grooms and she bawling. Now she didn't she had
Speaker 1: gone to school with Gianna who died in the crash,
Speaker 1: but she wasn't like she knew Kobe and at the time.
Speaker 1: It said that nobody in her family was was with her,
Speaker 1: and she starts crying. I go up to her and
Speaker 1: turns out actually her best friend was on the on
Speaker 1: the helicopter um um me Lissa Alta Belly, and she
Speaker 1: knew Johanna and she knew basically almost everybody on that
Speaker 1: on that plane. She knew the Choppers she knew. So
Speaker 1: that was that was my That was my day. What
Speaker 1: was what church? Were you in? What? What town in Indiana? Yeah?
Speaker 1: So I was actually on campus um I E Pui,
Speaker 1: so right downtown in Indianapolis, And the building was just
Speaker 1: right off the river, um the White River down there,
Speaker 1: And I remember I was in UM. I was in
Speaker 1: like the second hour of church, so Sunday school, and
Speaker 1: I was actually reading the scripture UM, and the everybody
Speaker 1: in the class kind of just like stopped because like
Speaker 1: we all got notifications and UM. And so you you
Speaker 1: have so your do you have your phone on you?
Speaker 1: Is it? Like? What is I? Again? Every church is different.
Speaker 1: You have your phone? I even start fuzzing or did
Speaker 1: somebody else start looking at their phone? And then you
Speaker 1: look at yours? How How did you? How did you
Speaker 1: go down? Yes? So I actually there's a there's a
Speaker 1: church app with all of our scriptures on it, and
Speaker 1: so I had the church app open and then I
Speaker 1: got you know, different text messages or messenger, Facebook Messenger,
Speaker 1: different stuff like that. And so Facebook is actually the
Speaker 1: approved social media for missionaries. So I didn't have Twitter. Um,
Speaker 1: I didn't have Instagram. I just had Facebook. And I
Speaker 1: get this message like check this out. Like I get
Speaker 1: another message I can't believe he died, like you know
Speaker 1: what's happening like all of this stuff and um, and
Speaker 1: I was like there's no way, like this isn't real. Um.
Speaker 1: But then like the leader of the congregation after Sunday
Speaker 1: school came up to me. He's like, hey, like I
Speaker 1: know you're basketball player. I know my scenarios don't have
Speaker 1: a lot of access to stuff like did you hear
Speaker 1: that Kobe Bryant died? And like that's when it like hit.
Speaker 1: I was like no way, like this can't be real.
Speaker 1: And then every every Sunday night we called the different
Speaker 1: missionaries to see like how their week was, see if
Speaker 1: they need anything, and one of the elder missionaries was
Speaker 1: from California like answered the phone. He was just like
Speaker 1: bawling and he was just like so sad. He grew
Speaker 1: up a Lakers fan, just like me, and and like
Speaker 1: I still remember that pain, like we felt together, like
Speaker 1: we didn't know him, like personally or anything. Right, But
Speaker 1: when something like that happens to people who just you know,
Speaker 1: love somebody, it's painful to see. And you know, I
Speaker 1: couldn't imagine for your family, especially a daughter who who
Speaker 1: knew them personally, what it would be like. But but
Speaker 1: but I think that also sparks why I love wearing
Speaker 1: them even today. You know, it's it's kind of like
Speaker 1: living on his legacy. And um, I love the Kobe fours, fives,
Speaker 1: and sixes, and those are probably my go to pairs
Speaker 1: that I wear for games. I've gotten a few more
Speaker 1: this offseason that hopefully I'll be able to showcase. And
Speaker 1: are you like superstitious, like you play well in one
Speaker 1: you keep wearing those? Actually in high school. In high school,
Speaker 1: I was very superstitious. So there's a pair of shoes that, um,
Speaker 1: I didn't have a great game in and then they
Speaker 1: were out of the rotation even though I loved them, Like,
Speaker 1: I'd still practice in them because there's some of my favorites.
Speaker 1: But like Um, they're actually the Kobe elevens. Um, they're
Speaker 1: this nice pair of Kobe elevens that I got for
Speaker 1: Christmas one year. Um, And then I had to go
Speaker 1: to the Kobe A d s, which actually were my
Speaker 1: personal favorite. But like they're okay, But I played really
Speaker 1: well on them for a while, so I was like,
Speaker 1: I gotta keep rocking with it. And we actually won
Speaker 1: the state championship, so I guess it worked. Where do
Speaker 1: you wear against Montberg? I wore some Lebrons, so we
Speaker 1: got invited to Geico, right, and my buddy's dad bought
Speaker 1: these the same black and gold because our colors were
Speaker 1: black and golden maroon. You bought these black and gold
Speaker 1: Kobe's or Lebron's. I'm like, I never wear Lebron. It's
Speaker 1: like they're so heavy. There's like you know, so I
Speaker 1: mean people like they're made He's like six ft eight,
Speaker 1: two hundred sixty pound dude, shoes made for him. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you weren't space boots dropping, Yeah exactly. And so like
Speaker 1: then my buddy's like, bo, you gotta wear those every
Speaker 1: game every game in college. I'm like, dude, I can't
Speaker 1: wear those, like their bricks. But like they were really
Speaker 1: comfy actually, like they did have a lot of cushion. Um.
Speaker 1: But yeah, so that game against mort Bury and I
Speaker 1: was like one of the only games I've never wear Kobe's.
Speaker 1: I worked some Kyries Sometimes I do like Kyrie's mainly
Speaker 1: because they were might be of early Kobe's and the
Speaker 1: way that they feel and and stuff. But um, in college, yeah,
Speaker 1: I've I've I think mentally i've I don't know if
Speaker 1: it's gotten over, but the superstition of shoes, But I
Speaker 1: think I'm kind of past that, which I think is
Speaker 1: good in a way, just because I think I need
Speaker 1: to be able to be confident enough that no matter
Speaker 1: what shoe, I play and I'll be able to play good.
Speaker 1: So let's just say Utah State place in the final
Speaker 1: four next year. As you mentioned, you said, I like fours, fives,
Speaker 1: and sixes, but you only get to pick one. And
Speaker 1: the Nakee guys come in your You're in logan, your
Speaker 1: fat practic facility, right, and they're like, hey, what shoes
Speaker 1: do you want to wear in the final four? What's
Speaker 1: your official answer? Um, I gotta go with I'm asking
Speaker 1: for something exclusive here that they they haven't made to
Speaker 1: the public. But I'm going with the purple Devin Book
Speaker 1: or Kobe Force. So those purple ones that he wore
Speaker 1: basically the whole playoffs, those would be the shoe that
Speaker 1: I would wear, um, just because I feel like they'd
Speaker 1: stand out a little bit, but also that the Code
Speaker 1: four is a super comfy Yeah, just a little bit.
Speaker 1: Just the the shoes. It's like we wore the grinches right,
Speaker 1: just enough, just enough, but not so over the top, right.
Speaker 1: You want to be the guy that's got the arms sleeve,
Speaker 1: you know, and and a headband and the shoes and
Speaker 1: the sweat bands or whatever, like the branch you know,
Speaker 1: green or some purple shoes. I like it. It's a
Speaker 1: it's an understated deal. Yeah, all right, do listen. I
Speaker 1: know you gotta go. You get a heart out. I
Speaker 1: do as well. It's great to catch up with you,
Speaker 1: and congratulations on your nuptules. Um, and let's catch up
Speaker 1: again in logan and let's get you some more and
Speaker 1: I l deals, right, we got we gotta make you
Speaker 1: a Nike athlete. You gotta um, you know, obviously the
Speaker 1: bone Yard I'm coming. We've gotta get their hair products going.
Speaker 1: And then continue to all of the all of the
Speaker 1: Steven Ashworth things, right, that's what you gotta. I can't
Speaker 1: believe you have into Ashworth now it's golf gear, but
Speaker 1: I haven't hit up Ashworth through that would be that
Speaker 1: would be a go to. I mean, I think I
Speaker 1: could get something with Ashworth golf gear, um, kind of
Speaker 1: like the Curry brand you know in golf, and so
Speaker 1: I don't even know how I haven't even thought of
Speaker 1: that one. I'm gonna text them right now. Yeah, if
Speaker 1: you know anybody at Nike, tug me up. I'd love
Speaker 1: to to wear some some out there type of shoes
Speaker 1: that are kind of just underlying. Nothing too crazy, but
Speaker 1: you know I'm a Nike guy, and you know that'd
Speaker 1: be a dream come true to to be able to
Speaker 1: have some Nike gear like that. Thanks so much for
Speaker 1: all the shooting advice and all those thoughts. I appreciate
Speaker 1: you joining me and being my guest for sure. Take
Speaker 1: care of that. Great to see you. Likewise, I'm not
Speaker 1: a fun combo. I thought it was great. Um. By
Speaker 1: the way, if you like what you here, make sure
Speaker 1: you write us a positive review. I think it benefits
Speaker 1: the pod somehow. A reminder of the Doug Gotlib shows
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Speaker 1: series x M two seventeen or two oh three my
Speaker 1: thanks to Stephen Ashworth and UH. Any of those companies
Speaker 1: that want to link up with him, you can do so.
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Speaker 1: Doug Gotlib Show twelve to three Eastern. I'm Doug Gottlieb
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